


Hope Is a Dangerous Thing For Two People Like Us To Have

by sickoi



Series: “Ruvik, you deserve attention” they said. [1]
Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fear, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:15:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26102554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sickoi/pseuds/sickoi
Summary: atelophobia • the fear of not being good enough. feeling like a waste of space. knowing no matter what you do, you'll never be enough.Ruvik has already experienced what it means to lose the person most important to you. When you appear in his life, he understands that perhaps there is a reason to go on, to be happy. Yet, the fear of losing you is too strong, it cannot allow them to harm you. You are his beloved sunflower.
Relationships: Ruben "Ruvik" Victoriano/Reader, Ruvik/Reader
Series: “Ruvik, you deserve attention” they said. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895881
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	Hope Is a Dangerous Thing For Two People Like Us To Have

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank little-cute-sun-fox for requesting this one shot on Ruvik (hope you like it darling!). If you have a request or a prompit, don't hesitate to ask me on Tumblr (@sickoi).

Love

I said real love, it's like feeling no fear

When you're standing in the face of danger

'Cause you just want it so much

A touch

_ Lana Del Rey - Cherry _

It all started when you stopped to look at that huge mansion; you were impressed by it, it seemed so much out of the art history books that you studied at school, or like the haunted houses you always watch in movies. It didn't scare you, on the contrary, you really wanted to go inside and discover the story behind it. How many times you would have liked to knock, but shyness always took over. You couldn't explain the effect it caused you, it was as if the ambition screamed "please, help me". 

Yet you didn't know it, but he had noticed you. On the rare occasions that Ruvik left his laboratory, he always looked behind the window curtains. On the one hand to avoid receiving unwanted visitors, on the other to hope that Laura would return home. The first time he saw you, he didn't pay much attention. He thought you were passing by, it wasn’t the first time that someone stopped to see his home. As he started seeing you more often, Ruvik asked himself various questions. There was a moment when he thought you were a spy, sent by Jimenez, to observe his movements. It wasn't even paranoia, it was a reality that this rascal-fake-doctor wanted to cut him off. The suspicion about you vanished in no time, especially when he watched your curious eyes scrutinize every single detail. The small smile that appeared on your face gave him a strange and pleasant sensation; it reminded him of when his sister smiled at him every moment they spent together. Ruvik, however, had not been used to beautiful sensations for too long, for him they had become something abstract and metaphysical. He blamed himself for trying certain things, even though you didn't even know each other, he felt in the abyss of his subconscious that he could trust you. Was he angry about this situation? Getting angry is not the right adjective. He was simply afraid of becoming attached to someone and losing them. His heart was already shattered into too many pieces.

One day, when the sun was embraced by the clouds, he decided to give space to the impulse: he opened the gate of the mansion. His subconscious insisted on why he had done it, but he decided to silence those remorse. Your reaction was a mush of emotions: fear, excitement and confusion all mixed together. The adrenaline was there pulsing in your veins like a raging river, urging you to enter. Your sense of responsibility was trying to paralyze all your muscles, sending you a clear signal: don’t enter. It couldn’t be denied that this whole situation seemed to come out of a thriller book and to make it worse were the strange disappearances that occurred recently. In many situations you have followed your heart and even now you couldn’t not do it. 

As you stepped over the gate, an icy breeze brushed your face like a caress. Ruvik was with his arms crossed waiting, for a moment the fear that you wouldn’tenter had assailed him. He felt so pathetic. The door made you feel bloody small, intimidating you to knock or not. By now you were finally there, you always wanted to enter, you couldn't back down now! You swallowed the knot formed in your throat and, with all the necessary courage, the knuckles of your hand finally met the old wood of the door. Your right foot started tapping the floor, hoping that no one was home and avoiding being a fool. Just when you were about to decide to leave, the door opened, revealing who was behind it. The man, full of bandages, looked at you with his icy eyes from head to toe. Actually Ruvik had already studied you enough, but he couldn't point it out.You would have stayed watching him all day if you had the opportunity.

“Are you looking for someone?” His voice sent goosebumps to your entire body. It was so deep and calm, perfect for a melody. 

“No, I...I'm sorry, it's just that your house really impressed me. What an embarrassment! I didn't want to give the impression of a thief or anything like that.” A modest smile appeared on Ruvik's face, the size of that place simultaneously increasing his ego. 

“It is not new that someone stops to admire this mansion. Would you like to enter? It is not a request that I would make to anyone, but I am always ready to make an exception.” 

“Are you sure? Well, we don't even know each other.” 

Ruvik simply didn't answer, he opened the door as an invitation to let you in. Such things didn’t always happen, unless it was a neighbor; thinking about it, the distance between your house and hers wasn't even that big. If there had been someone else, they would have run away as soon as they saw him; but you aren’t someone else, you are yourself and you do what you feel like doing. 

As soon as you stepped inside, a dusty and sad air filled your lungs. It was not annoying, in your opinion it gave an antique look to the whole house.

“By the way, my name is (Y/N)!”

“Ruben.” 

The man in front of you was of few words, but direct enough to satisfy you. Your only fear was that you would seem like a chatterbox compared to him, you didn't want to annoy him with the thousand questions you had in your head. 

“Do you live here alone? I've always wondered what it feels like to live in such large houses.” 

“Yes, I do. I got used to being alone with myself.”

You didn't want to insist on the issue of loneliness, you were sure you would hit a sore spot. So you let your feet walk around, looking at every single painting and strange objects. You didn’t stray too far from man's sight, it wasn’t your home and you didn’t have the right to wander around as he wanted. Ruvik was curious about your behavior, he couldn't stop watching your movements so careful. It was one of those few times that he really wanted to know what was inside your brain. 

“Where exactly do you live?” 

“I live a few steps from here, actually. My house is kind of tiny compared to yours! And of course I also live alone.” 

“Follow me, I'll show you other rooms.”

Ruvik couldn't explain why he was letting you into his only safe place. You had such candid energy, like Laura's. He knew that you wouldn’t harm him, you had an innocence perceptible from a kilometer distance.

The Grand Tour of the Victoriano Estate was interrupted when the clock signaled that it was late. The exchange of questions and answers allowed both of us to get to know each other a little more. The curiosity about why he had all those bandages was still hanging, but you didn't have the nerve to ask him a question like point blank. One thing that immediately impressed you was his good manners: every time he opened the door, he always let you in first. All of which gave you hope that gallantry still existed. When he accompanied you to the exit, you never stopped thanking him for the different day you spent with him. Your heart was beating so strongly that it gave you the impression of breaking the rib cage. 

“Really, I don't know how to thank you! You've been so nice to me, even though I'm a total stranger to you...”

“Don’t thank me. Indeed, if you want to come and see me sometime, it will be a pleasure to welcome you.”

“It would be a huge pleasure for me. I will come to see you, I promise!” 

And after saying goodbye, your heart still couldn't calm down from all that excitement. You felt your cheeks burn, dying of shame to think he saw you blush for so little, while Ruvik mentally blamed himself for being too much of a sentimentalist. Both, however, had experienced a feeling they had long forgotten: happiness. 

For Mr. Victoriano it became difficult to continue his studies when you were smiling at him in his mind. Even when Jimenez contemplated uselessness, he didn't let his rumors touch him. He had only you to care about.

You have always been a person who kept promises, that's how it was. Slowly, you went to visit your new "friend" more and more often. Any excuse was good to keep him company and spend time together. With slow steps, Ruvik was opening up to you and you felt lucky to hear him. He also told you about the reason for his bandages, the burns that still hurts today and his beloved sister, Laura. The story of the accident had tightened your heart, as if there was a fist around it. You were out of breath and the tears begged you to come out, but you didn't allow it. You wanted to be his support, you wanted to give him the strength to move forward. You had a great desire to hug him, to hold him close to you, but it wasn't time yet. It was clear that he didn’t feel comfortable with those memories marked on his skin. In his eyes, even if he didn't admit it, you were gorgeous and he felt like a monster. If only he knew he was beautiful to you too. 

You just gently placed a hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eyes.

“Your sister will always be proud of you, always remember that.”

You also asked him about his studies, but in this case Ruvik preferred to be vague. The words that stood out the most were anatomy and brain, two things that had always fascinated you. When you started hearing him talk about his research, your mind and your eyes focused all attention on him. You had spent many evenings this way, and he always took the opportunity to let you stay and sleep here. Could you ever refuse? Absolutely not!

The closer the relationship became, the clearer things were. Little by little you really understood what Ruvik was doing, but you didn't want to abandon him anyway. What he was doing didn't scare you and you asked him several times if he wanted help. As wrong as it might have been, you were far too in love with that man. 

After finally realizing that you would not have abandoned him for this reason, Ruvik began to let you into his world and his laboratory. He could finally be himself with the person he was falling in love with. 

Inside his heart, however, Ruvik was afraid, a feeling that was growing more and more every day. He was afraid that something might happen to you, that they would hurt you just to get to him...he couldn't allow it. At the cost of his own life.

At first you didn't give it so much weight, you thought it was a natural reaction. He had lost his sister, the person he cared about most, it was normal that he didn't want to lose you too. One evening the situation got worse in the blink of an eye: you could perceive a paranoia that was devouring him. The contact had increased over time, Ruvik let you change the bandages, becoming almost a routine. In that moment, just when you were about to finish, he rests his head on your chest. It was the first time he made such a gesture, you were left speechless. Following the philosophy of  carpe diem , you caressed his head with your hand. In the total silence of the room, his breathing became audible.

“ Ruben, what's wrong? ” 

“ I know you're scared, so why are you staying here with me? ” 

“ Because...I care about you, I can't let you go. Just because I'm afraid of what might happen to us, I don't hold back.”

Ruvik listened to your every single heartbeat, noticing how their speed grew at an exponential rate. He put his arms around your waist softly, holding you tightly to him. 

“I can't let them hurt you.” 

The grip was getting stronger, you no longer had a way out even if you wanted to. You were meant to stay there with him.

“Nothing will happen to me, my hope is always last to die!”

“Hope is a dangerous thing for two people like us to have.”

There was simply silence after his statement, accompanied by a hug. You both wanted to stop time and remain united for eternity, not allowing anyone to harm you. Your head was creating imaginative images of how perfect your life would have been without Jimenez.

You hated him with all of yourself. 

What brought you back to reality was when Ruvik stood up, standing in front of you. The difference in height was now very noticeable, but it wasn't a problem because it gave you a sense of reassurance. His hands took your face, stroking your cheeks with his thumbs. In a second, his lips came close to yours, closing in a kiss. Everything around you seemed to have disappeared completely, there was only Ruvik and his beautiful lips.

“I love you, Sunflower.”

“I love you too, Ruben.”


End file.
